Two of the contemporary punk scene’s most compelling live bands are hitting the Midwest together for a tour full of sad feelings and heavy drinking. The Menzingers will be headlining at The Bishop (123 S. Walnut) on September 24, with emo titans Tiny Moving Parts warming up the crowd. The show will begin at 9:30 p.m. with doors opening at 8:30 p.m., and sorry kids, but this one is 18+.
Tiny Moving Parts are out on the road with The Menzingers and are acting as the little brother tagging along, except they’re a critically acclaimed emo band and their big bro is one of the most exciting punk bands in the nation. Tiny Moving Parts, composed of brothers Billy and Matt Chevalier, and their cousin Dylan Mattheisen, are one of the tightest performing bands touring today. The three have been playing together most of their lives, and it translates to their live shows. Their sophomore release, Pleasant Living, was put out earlier this month on Triple Crown Records and features a little less frantic yelling and a little more warm, inviting singing from the same three goofballs you got to know on 2013’s This Couch Is Long and Full of Friendship.
Philadelphia’s The Menzingers, hot off their latest album Rented World, perform a catchy brand of storytelling punk rock soaked in beer and surrounded with friends. The choruses are infectiously tenacious, the verses are brilliantly descriptive, and chords and riffs stick like glue. Their sophomore effort On the Impossible Past landing on more year-end lists than most people can count. With multiple albums out on punk powerhouse Epitaph Records, The Menzingers are upping the ante with each release, consistently maturing and improving as songwriters and musicians.
Both groups have been active in the same circles, with independent appearances at Bled Fest and Riot Fest Chicago still lingering in mind. It isn’t every day that two of the most talented punk bands come through town, and especially less frequent where they portray the upward momentum possessed by these two bands. Stage dive hard because this will be one of the best shows of the year.
